Today, I looked through Forbes magazine. Forbes is a magazine about finances, business, the economy, and most importantly money. Obviously, a magazine about money is going to have a consumerist view of the world. In the context of our class, I noticed some interesting things. For example, on the second page there was an advertisement for a consulting firm that said, "When you are building an empire, there's no time for a learning curve." In this magazine, it is good to build an empire, to be super-affluent, and to be in charge of many people. There was also a page dedicated to "the winners and losers of 2011." Those who made a lot of money were winners, and those who lost a lot of money were losers. The magazine paints the picture that the chief purpose of humankind is to be successful by making large amounts of money. Wealth is central in the Empire.
But, it wasn't all bad. There was a slightly apocalyptic article about hackers exposing those who censor the internet. There was also a long segment about Japan "Rising to the Challenge" after the devastating earthquake. It praised corporate generosity between American and Japanese businesses. This gives me hope that people are capable of running a corporation with ethical practices and some compassion.
Finally, there was an ongoing article called "30 under 30". It was about 30 "disruptors who aren't waiting to reinvent the world." Turns out these "disruptors" are just finding innovative ways to get rich. Donald Glover, a successful actor, writer, comedian, and rapper was one of these people. He said, "I hope I never 'make it.' I wake up every morning saying 'got to be better.' I don't think I ever fell satisfied." That sums it up. In the Empire you will never be satisfied, and shouldn't be satisfied. It's all about more. It's good that he wants to better himself, but why wouldn't you want to be satisfied? I feel like we need hope for a better world, but we don’t need greed.
Can we simultaneously have contentment and hope for a better future?
Can corporations have generosity if profit is the bottom line?
Nice work picking apart a difficult artifact, Kyle. We need to be careful to not demonize making money; but at the same time, we need to be willing to ask how money is being made. Have people become wealthy through the oppression of others? Have people earned their wealth by opening up new flourishing in an area of life?
ReplyDeleteBecause we live in a broken world, I'm not sure there are many (if any) perfect examples. Unfortunately, most wealth creation is a jumbled up mess of both good and evil. So while on the one hand, Steve Jobs and Apple have created magnificently creative products allowing some folks to do thing they never could have before; on the other, assembly line workers in China are working in increasingly hazardous conditions to build these things for us.
The solutions, then, are also not clear cut. What we need to be working toward, though, is bettering the lives of all and not just some.